Electric rat-trap.



rMinn KnUczYNsKI, or nLYnIA, omo.

nnncrnro RAT-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1?, 1912.

Application filed May. 19, 1911. Serial No. 628,213.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MIKE KnnozYNsKI, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary,

residing at Elyria, in the county of- Lorain and State of\Ohio, have invented certain new andV useful improvements in Electric Rat-T raps, of which the following is a specication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to an electric rat trap, and the purposes of my invention are to utilize an electric current for shocking and exterminating rats and other rodents,

and to provide suitable trap doors for discharging the bodies of rats in a receptacle, where the bodies are confined invisible from other rats in the vicinity of the trap, and further subjected to a charge of electricity.

Further v'objects of my invention are to provide a trap of the above type that can be safely handled and used to anadvantage in wharves, warehouses and other structures for exterminating rodents, and to accomplish the above results by a structure that is simple, durable-and -inexpensive to manufacture.

I attain the above objects by a mechanical construct-ion that will be hereinafter specilically" described and then claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a trap in accordance with this invention, Fig..2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan of the trap with the housing'thereof removed.

A trap in accordance with this invention comprises a rectangular receptacle having a base plate 1, end walls 2, side walls 3 and atop plate e., The top plate 4C is provided with a longitudinal opening 5 corresponding in length to the trap. and of a less width than said trap. The top 'pla-te 4 has .the underneath side thereof provided with bearings 6 at the edges' of the opening 5, and pivotally mounted in said bearings are transverse rods 7 extending through straps 8, carried by the trapjdoors 9. 'The trap doors 9 have the outer `edges thereof resting upon ledges'lO, carried by the upper edges of the walls 2, said trap doors beingir normally retained in a horizontal or closed position by` retractile springs 11, said springs having the upper ends thereof connect'ed to eyes 12, carried by the underneath sides of the trap doors 9, and the lower convolutions thereof connected to the inner sides of the end walls 2.

Mounted upon the inner ends of the trap doors 9 `are plates 13 of i-nsulation, as liber and arranged upon the plates are contact bars 14: and 15 having extensions 1G alternately arranged in parallelism. The contact bars 111 are connected bywires 17 and 18 to the negative pole of a suitable source o-f electrical energy, and the contact bars 16 are connected by wires 19 and A20 to the positive pole of a suitable source of electrical energy, as a battery or ordinary light circuit of a building.

The end walls 2 at the upper edges thereof are provided with brackets 2l supporting the upper ends of gang planks 22, said gang I planks being covered with interwoven wire 23, whereby a rat can easily obtain a purchase upon the gang planks to enter the trap.

lMounted upon the top plate 4 are the lateral flanges 24 of a semi-cylindrical housing 25, preferably made of interwoven wire, said housing having interwoven ends and the top thereof reinforced by a longitudinal metallic strip 26,' which adds rigidity to the housing. The strip 26 intermediate the `ends thereof and at a point centrally of the housing is provided with a depending bait holder 27 adapted to hold the bait 28 directly above the front edges of the trap doors 9 Y Mounted upon the bottom plate 1 intermediate the ends thereofris a transverse inverted V-s'haped shell 29 covered with in.-i sulation material 30, as liber. Arranged upon the inclined walls of the insulation material 30 are contact bars 31 having eX- tensions similar to the bars 14. The contact .bars 31 are provided with wires 32 that extend `through insulators 33 `arranged in the bot-tom plate 1. The wires 32 being in circuit with the same source of electrical energy, as the wires 17 to 20 inclusive.

One of the `side walls 3 is provided with doorways Sennormally closed by doors 35, said doorways permitting of easy access being had to the trapto remove electrocuted bodies therefrom.

,f vVhen a rat or other rodent steps on to the extensions 16 of the contact bars la and 15 of the trap doors 9, an electrical circuit is immediately completed that shocks the rat, and the weight of the rats body upon the trap doors causes saiddoors to open and Aexterminates the life of the rat.

deposit the rat in the receptacle of the trap. I f the rat is not thoroughly electrocuted'by contacting with the extensions 16 of the bars 14 and l5, the body of the rat will con: tact with the bars 31 and` receive an additional charge of electricity that thoroughly Immediately upon the trap doors being released by the Weight of the rats body, the tra 'doors are returned to their normal position t ough the medium ofthe retractile springs 1 1,

As will be seen, the contact bars on the inclined walls 29 are arranged spaced above' the bottom of the receptacle. This construe- .tion provides for electrocuting the rodent,`

and at the same time` tends to prevent a short circuiting, the contacts being above the normal position of the .electrocuted rodents,

insure this action.

but so arranged'that, should the contacts on the tilting doors not provide the electro-v cution, the attempt of the rodent to pass over the contacts Within the receptacle would Copies of this patent may be obtained for What I claim is y In an electric rat trap, a receptacle, a pair of tilting doors opposing each other and leach carrying contacts insulated from its `the doors, each of the inclined Walls of said member carrying contacts insulated from the member and from each other to form terminals of electrocuting circuits, said contacts .being spaced from the bottom of the receptacle. v

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in thepresence of two Witnesses.

1 MIKE KRUCZYNSKI.

Y Witnesses:

` PAULINE KALEY,

FLORENCE HAimL.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner nf .'tatents,` Washington, B. G. 

